Fergus yelled out in pain as Mordu toppled him over. His men rushed to his side, only to find out one of his legs was gone.

"Get him out of here!" cried one of the men before turning to face the nightmarish bear, the leader of the Hunters of Annuvin. But the bear tossed him to the side easily and charged after Fergus and the men attempting to get him to safety. But the bear tripped and stumbled over something, sending him tumbling across the ground. He let out a fierce growl before standing. A cloaked figure jumped in the way, brandishing a sword.

"You will leave King Fergus alone!" shouted the figure.

Mordu laughed. "Fool! No mortal man can kill me!"

The cloak was thrown back, and a head full of red curls cascaded down past the warrior's shoulders. "But I am no man. I am Merida, first born of Clan Dunbroch, and I'm going to kill you for what you have done to him"!

Mordu laughed, then bent over to look her in the eyes. "You're welcome to try."

"Merida! No!" cried out Fergus. Mordu attacked, and Merida quickly moved out of his way, taking a swing at him as he went past her. Her sword made contact with his leg, and he roared in pain. He charged again, and Merida ducked and swung. She nicked his other leg. Mordu didn't wait this time, he swung. Merida ducked and rolled befoer getting up and running. Mordu chased her.

"Coward! Face me and fight!"

"That's how you win every time," muttered Merida. She noticed a bow out of the corner of her eye and raced towards it. She scooped it up, along with an arrow, turned, and fired at Mordu. It hit him square in the chest. He paused to roar with pain, giving Merida a chance to look for another arrow. She found another and quickly fired it. That only made Mordu mad and he put in some speed. Merida grabbed a third arrow and quickly shot it before getting knocked over by Mordu and landing flat on her back. He roared in her face.

"Did you really think you stood a chance against me? And now I shall deprive Fergus of more than just his leg!" Mordu opened his mouth, then closed it with a yelp.

"Get off of her, you dumb bear!"

Mordu let out a roar as he seemed to react to getting slapped around.

"I said, get off!"

"Where are you?" Mordu scanned the area, but couldn't see anything.

"Didn't they teach you anything about the Fair Folk? We can turn invisible, you idiot!"

"Thank you Doli!" said Merida as she scooted out from under Mordu. She quickly turned her attention to finding more arrows. Staying invisible might keep Mordu occupied for now, but it wouldn't last for long. They had to destroy him, for good. And to do that, they had to knock him off his feet to reveal his weak spot. But how to do that?

"Show yourself, you coward!" roared Mordu as he swiped at the air.

"And lose my one advantage? I think not," said Doli with a scoff. While the two argued back and forth like that, Merida found and picked up a few arrows. A loud yelp made her pause in her search and glanced back at Mordu. The face of the dwarf was poking out from between the bear's massive paw. "Merida! Help!"

Mordu growled. "What can she do? She's just like you." He looked at her, a dare gleaming in his eyes. "A coward."

She aimed an arrow at him. "Let him go."

"Or you'll do what? Shoot me? You already did three times and that didn't stop me. I am the strongest man alive!"

"Bear, you're a bear. You're certainly as dumb as one." Doli let out a squeak as Mordu squeezed.

"Hang on Doli, I'm coming!" Fflewddur shouted as he ran across the field. He somehow managed to avoid getting hit by the flying arrows and the tossed spears, yet got his foot stuck in a fallen saddle. He began rolling down with the saddle and a few other things before everything came to a sudden stop by ramming into Mordu. The bear went down and the dwarf went up. Merida let out a soft gasp before dashing forward, she was not going to miss this opportunity and she was going to make sure she hit her mark. She got close enough that she knew she would get a direct bull's eye, and loosed the arrow. The arrow pierced the skin of Mordu's back left paw. The wind whistled as it began to swirl faster and faster around the bear.

"Fflewddur! Merida! Get out of there!" shouted Doli. Fflewddur yelped, jumped up, and was out like a shot. Merida turned and ran. But there was enough strength in Mordu that he stood and chased after her. He lunged and raked his claws across her back before dissolving into a wisp of dust. Merida screamed before falling forward and losing consciousness.

...

When Merida came to, she found herself swallowed in pillows and blankets, safe, warm, and very, very comfortable. She wriggled herself further under the blankets and pillows, and heaved a sigh of content. She hoped her mother wouldn't come into the room. Her eyebrows furrowed. Why hadn't her mother come in, anyways? It wasn't Saturday. Was it? As she tried to recollect the day, the events of the past few days came back to her in a flash. Mordu. Doli. Fflewddur. Her back. Her eyes popped open and she reached for her back, rubbing the spot where the claws met flesh. It didn't seem like there were any open wounds any more. She frowned. That meant she had to have been unconscious for a long time. But, how long?

The door to her room opened and a familiar figure entered. She sat straight up, her eyes wide, and a soft blush found its way to her cheeks. "Gwydion!" While he did tell her he did not love her, nor was he interested in her, his presence still stirred a longing within her that she yearned to fill.

He smiled. "Ah, I see you are awake! Your father will be most pleased."

"Where is my father? Is he alright?"

Gwydion nodded. "Oh, quite alright. His leg healed faster than your back, obviously. He's gone to the smithy to be fitted with a peg leg. He'll be right back up here when he's done."

"And, and what of the battle? And what about Doli and Fflewddur?"

"We have won the battle." Gwydion's face fell. "But there is still more to be done to defeat Arawn." A soft smile graced his face. "But Doli and Fflewddur are alright. They would have been here as well, but I sent them off to take a message to several people. We're going to have a meeting about that very thing here tomorrow. Maybe you should show up. Who knows what ideas you have."

Merida glanced down and thought about it for a moment before nodding as she glanced back up. "Yes, I'll be there."

Gwydion smiled. "Wonderful." He nodded towards the chair in the room. A pale green dress was laid across its back. "Why don't you get dressed and I'll show you to the kitchen. Get some food in you. You've been out for a week."

Merida's eyes widened. "A week?!"

Gwydion nodded solemnly. "Yes, a week. So you really do need to get some food into you soon."

Merida's stomach grumbled. She placed her hands over her stomach before grinning sheepishly at Gwydion. "I think now will be a good time."

"Good. I'll wait outside for you." Gwydion left and closed the door. Merida quickly changed and joined him. They talked about a few things while they walked towards the kitchen, but the walk was mostly quiet. Once in the kitchen, Gwydion sought out a young man not much older than twenty. "Has anyone seen Hiccup?"

Merida quickly covered her mouth to hide her giggles. Who names their kid Hiccup? But then the guy came forward, and she was glad she did. Her eyes widened as she realized how handsome he was. She could almost forgive him for keeping such a silly name. Almost.

"Ah, Hiccup, there you are. Can you please make sure Princess Merida is well fed? I have a few other matters to attend to, and I will let her father and her friends know where to find her."

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, of course, your majesty."

"And, I would like it if you came to the meeting as well, Hiccup."

Hiccup sighed. "Yes, I will come. It's the least I can do in my father's place."

Gwydion placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you my friend." He turned to Merida. "I will see you later. I'm sure your father, Doli, and Fflewddur will be joining you shortly."

Merida merely nodded before Gwydion walked away.

Hiccup let out a sigh. Merida glanced at him. "At least you were trying to not laugh," he muttered.

Merida blinked before realizing she still had her hand over her mouth. She took it away. "Oh, right, sorry … hiccup."

He waved his hand, sighing again. "I know, I know, it's not a common name to be naming one's child. But, it is a Viking tradition and …"

"Hiccup." Oh no.

He blinked. "What?"

Merida waved her hands. "Oh no, it's just … hiccup."

Hiccup's eyes widened when he realized what was happening. Merida had a case of the hiccups! He burst out laughing. "I gave you the hiccups!"

"It is not funny! It's annoying!"

"Exactly why I got my name," replied Hiccup with a grin.

"Oh hang it … hiccup … all. Just … hiccup … get me some … hiccup … food, will ya? Hiccup."

Hiccup laughed. "Right this way. We'll have you stuffed and cured of the hiccups in no time." Merida was stuffed and cured of the hiccups in no time. Not long into her meal, Fergus, Fflewddur, and Doli joined her and they got her caught up on all the news. Even learning that Taran, Ellidyr, and Gurgi had made it into the enemy's camp and was searching for the Black Cauldron at that very moment. That, in fact, was what the meeting was to be about, how they could help them get to the Black Cauldron without being seen. But while Merida listened to every word and thought it all interesting, she couldn't help but be distracted by the green eyes of a boy with a strange name. Maybe, once this was all over, they could see if anything was to come of the attraction, and if there was one on Hiccup's part. But first, they had a Dark Lord to defeat.

(Characters from Disney's Brave, How to Train Your Dragon, and Chronicles of Prydain.)